# Utah H.B. 445: County Government Land Purchasing Utah H.B. 445, County Government Land Purchasing, is a 2026 General Session House bill sponsored by Mark A. Strong (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-19 (Governor Signed); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-14). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB445-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-14 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah H.B. 445 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: County Government Land Purchasing - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-01-30 - Last action: 2026-03-19, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Mark A. Strong (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Counties, Land Use, Political Subdivisions (Local Issues), Property Tax, Revenue and Taxation - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 11 (143 yes, 36 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Counties face taxes on out-of-county property: cost, low. County-owned real property outside the owning county becomes taxable on a phased schedule. Property acquired on or after May 6, 2026, becomes taxable January 1, 2027; earlier acquisitions become taxable January 1, 2029. Assessments use the property's taxable value and use immediately before the cou… - Mixed-use properties face tighter tax exemptions: cost, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, property loses this tax exemption if more than a minor share serves nonqualifying purposes. Qualifying purposes are religious, charitable, or educational uses. Affected owners lose the exemption and face property tax costs. - Counties gain control over outside purchases: mixed, low. Beginning May 6, 2026, counties must get the host county's permission before buying, leasing, or trading for property there. This gives the host county a say while limiting the acquiring county's choices. Permission requires formal action by the host county's legislative body or a signed agreement… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Mark A. Strong (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Daniel McCay (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | House | House/ concurs with Senate amendment | pass | 55 | 10 | | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-03-05 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 22 | 4 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | | 2026-02-26 | Senate | Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 4 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ floor amendment | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ substituted | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 51 | 20 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ uncircled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-20 | House | House/ circled | fail | 0 | 0 | | | 2026-02-12 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 7 | 2 | | ## Actions (44) - 2026-03-19: Governor Signed - 2026-03-16: House/ to Governor (House) - 2026-03-16: House/ received enrolled bill from Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: House/ enrolled bill to Printing (House) - 2026-03-12: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-03-06: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-03-06: Bill Received from House for Enrolling - 2026-03-06: House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-03-06: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ concurs with Senate amendment (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar (House) - 2026-03-06: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ to House with amendments (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-03-05: Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-03-04: Senate/ 2nd Reading Calendar to Rules (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-02-27: Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted (Senate) - 2026-02-26: Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-26: Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation - 2026-02-24: Senate/ to standing committee (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-02-23: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-20: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ floor amendment (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ uncircled (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ circled (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ substituted (House) - 2026-02-20: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-12: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-12: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-02-12: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-02-06: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (House) - 2026-02-02: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-02-02: House/ received bill from Legislative Research (House) - 2026-01-30: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0445.pdf) - Substitute #3, 2026-03-03: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S03.pdf) - Substitute #2, 2026-02-25: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S02.pdf) - Amended 2/23/2026 07:02:258, 2026-02-23: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0445S01_2026-02-23_07-48-57.pdf) - Substitute #1, 2026-02-20: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S01.pdf) - Introduced, 2026-01-30: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0445.pdf) - [Substitute #3 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S03.pdf) - [Substitute #2 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S02.pdf) - [Amended 2/23/2026 07:02:258 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_HB0445S01_2026-02-23_07-48-57.pdf) - [Substitute #1 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445S01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/HB0445.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB220-2026GS) - [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills) - [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB445-2026GS (as of 2026-10-14).